African Poverty- How to help the poor

African Poverty – How to help the poor

Many impoverished people in Africa live in shacks and conditions unrecognisable to most of us reading this. The shacks are usually built from scrap materials, are drafty, dirty and generally unhygienic. Even in seemingly wealthy countries in this Dark Continent, so-called “squatter" camps proliferate, comprising of shanties, always at risk of fire and disease, with no running water and no ablution facilities.

The governments’ usual response is that these people are unemployed and cannot economically or justifiably be housed, especially given the cost of building a conventional house – no matter how small – as we know it.

I believe I have a solution. Unlikely to be welcome by large building firms, cement producers and the building industry generally, it dates back to historic times and uses simple materials and technology available to us all.

In order to fully understand my proposal, ask yourself an apparently irrelevant question. How did the ancient Egyptians manage to construct the pyramids? How did they – without lifting equipment  - get those huge stones up each level? Stonehenge, standing on Salisbury Plain in Southern England, a circle of large stones supporting large lintels fitted end-to-end, is another such enigma. How were those stones moved and placed in position? Despite many extraneous theories, no scientist has yet to present a creditable answer.

In my view, forget stones and think sand sand that, when wet, dries rock hard. This is not your everyday sand, but dessert-type sand that when exposed to rain forms a protective crust over it. The depth of the crust varies with the amount of water penetration. The Egyptians removed the topsoil, broke through the crust, opened up a quarry and proceeded to cast the stones into useable construction material. This process has been variously tested – indeed some of this sand still resides in bags within the tomb of Rameses – simply by exposing said sand to a fine water spray. Further evidence is seen in the formation of sarcophagi (stone coffins) and even in the encasement of frogs in so-called rock (see www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Frog.html).

Given that housing is a crucial priority of many impoverished peoples, imagine if one was able to construct dwellings using pre-cast walls and roofs made of hardened sand. Other than for door and windows, the cost would be low and would result in tough fire & waterproof houses. Add a coat of paint and you have a presentable house, strong enough to withstand most of what nature can throw at it and certainly a lot better than some of the shacks currently inhabited.

If all this sounds unrealistic or impractical, I urge you, the reader, to think laterally and accept that unless we all change our approach and attitude towards convention, it is highly unlikely that throwing mere money at countries with large, impoverished communities will make any material difference to their well-being.

» left by Pam Watson

from Vernon, BC Canada 6 years 210 days ago.

What a wonderful idea! Have you thought of informing the leader of Word Vision or James Robison of Life Today? They both are working hard to create real solutions to the vast amount of problems Africa faces.

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» left by jamisha

from atlanta georgia 5 years 113 days ago.

how many people live in the united states

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